Minburn Moment

As a rule I try to stop in every small town I pass (time permitting), because chances are I'll find something interesting. Maybe not a World's Largest attraction...but chances are that downtown or on 'Railway' there is an old building or 2, or more. Sometimes most of the town is old. Perfect.

One such place I recently visited was Minburn, AB. Place Names of Alberta says that a writer named Mina Burns is the towns namesake. The only thing I could find about her is she was a magazine writer from Ottawa who wrote about Western Canada. Did she visit the area? Did someone realllly admire her writing? They must have been some great articles to get a town named after you....does my blog qualify me to have anything named after me? I'd settle for a park or a lake.

Canadian Northern Railway established a station here in 1905, a post office followed in 1906 and Minburn was incorporated as a Village in 1919. In 2015 Minburn was downgraded to a hamlet. The population was 105 in 2011. To be a Village you need to have 300+ people. The trains still run by Minburn but there is no longer a station on Railway Ave.

I know there are lots of interesting things to discover in Minburn County but I only explored the townsite (hamletsite?) on this visit. On my first pass through town, I saw a couple old homes that had some character. I do believe that they were occupied though, so I didn't take photos.

Here are some things in and just outside of town.

An old thresher and truck

Out of Service

Dead End

I love 'Now & Then' photos. Here is the Minburn Hotel and in 50's. I'm sure it much older but I couldn't find another photo.

On the corner of Railway Ave and 50th St

Photo from www.prairie-towns.com

Hope you enjoyed this Minburn Moment, be sure to stop by a small town today and see what you find!